4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT
L.A. UNIFIED POSTPONES TUESDAY’S SPECIAL BOARD MEETING ABOUT iPADS
L.A. Unified postpones meeting on iPads over Deasy's possible exit By Howard Blume and Stephen Ceasar, LA Times | http://lat.ms/16COVpM October 25, 2013, 8:25 p.m. :: Los Angeles Board of Education President Richard Vladovic on Friday canceled a special board meeting planned for Tuesday on the district’s $1-billion iPad project. Vladovic said the board needed to devote more time to a
Q&A: LAUSD’s JAIME AQUINO – on iPads, Board Fights, and Stepping Down + someone else’s 2¢
by Benjamin Herold in Education Week http://bit.ly/1c765PU Oct 25, 2013 :: For my recent story on the fresh controversies surrounding the new digital curriculum that is embedded on the iPads being distributed to tens of thousands of Los Angeles students, I sat down to talk with Jaime Aquino, the deputy superintendent of instruction for the 651,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District.
COACHELLA VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT’S iPAD INITIATIVE BRINGS OPTIMISM AND SKEPTICISM
by Eric Westervelt NPR Education Correspondent on All Things Considered |All Tech Considered | http://n.pr/1eVtzJx [ Download Audio | 8 min 14 sec] Students at Coachella Valley Unified School District use iPads during a lesson. The district's superintendent is promoting the tablet initiative as a way to individualize learning. - Coachella Valley Unified School District October 25, 2013
Senator Raises Questions About Protecting Student Data
“Putting the sensitive information of students in private hands raises a number of important questions about the privacy rights of parents and their children.” By NATASHA SINGER, New York Times | http://nyti.ms/Hm8aNF October 22, 2013, 12:01 pm :: A lawmaker who is a staunch advocate of children’s privacy is investigating whether the data collection and analysis practices of the growing
Rumors Reach Fever Pitch – And Video Trucks Hover – But La Superintendent Deasy Denies He’S Resigned
Annie Gilbertson and Mary Plummer | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1a5QyMQ Jed Kim | Supt. John Deasy addresses school leaders during the annual LAUSD Administrators' Meeting. October 25th, 2013, 11:42am :: Rumors of the impending resignation of Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy reached a fever pitch Thursday night, after media reports circulated that he
John Deasy To Resign From Lausd After Almost 3 Years As Superintendent
The Huffington Post | By Anna Almendrala | http://huff.to/1dtFfVX 10/25/2013 3:38 pm EDT | Updated: 4:15 pm EDT :: After almost three years as superintendent of the nation's second-largest school district, John Deasy could reportedly leave the Los Angeles Unified School District by February 2014, according to the Los Angeles Times, despite the fact that his contract was extended through
CURRICULUM PROMPTS NEW CONCERNS IN L.A. iPAD PLAN
By Benjamin Herold, Education Week | http://bit.ly/1eQxl6X Students photograph themselves with an iPad during a class at Broadacres Elementary School in Carson, Calif. —Bob Chamberlin/Los Angeles Times/AP Published Online: October 25, 2013 | Los Angeles :: Education officials here tout the new digital curriculum embedded on iPads being distributed to tens of thousands of students as a
Aala: Big Philanthropy And Education
from the AALA Weekly Update for the week of October 28, 2013 | http://bit.ly/1armyiy 24 October, 2013 :: Much has been written about the role that large foundations are starting to play in education in general and LAUSD in particular. More and more, the policy agenda of Broad, Gates, Walton and other foundations is being forced on educators despite their misgiving and the lack of supportive
UTLA: IT’S TIME. Time for a raise & Time for Deasy to go
utla president’s perspective; by Warren Fletcher from the October United Teacher | http://bit.ly/18l9ira IT’S TIME FOR A RAISE. We cannot wait any longer "As our actions escalate, our focus must always be on our core message: that when you nickel-and-dime teachers and health and human services professionals, you devalue
THE LAUSD iPAD MESS LEADS TO SUPERINTENDENT’S RESIGNATION: Perhaps it’s a generational thing?
By Allison Cohen Ferraro, Publisher, The Los Feliz Ledger | http://bit.ly/HgYPqT Thursday, October 24th, 2013 at 10:12 pm :: iPads are the future, in fact, they are here now. If you’ve witnessed your middle or high school son or daughter lugging around 20 lbs. of textbooks—or more—to school each day, you will surely agree. Lockers don’t exist anymore in Los Angeles School Unified
Lcff: New Funding System Requires Education Leaders To Shift Their Thinking
commentary By Ron Bennett, President and CEO of School Services of California in EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/H7hipE October 24th, 2013 :: Much attention has been paid to the calculation of revenues and redistribution of funding that occurs as a result of California’s new Local Control Funding Formula.
DEASY LEAVING LA UNIFIED? WHO COULD BE SURPRISED + smf’s 2¢
News Analysis by Michael Janofsky, Managing Editor -LA School Report | http://bit.ly/1gMOy5P October 25, 2013 :: If John Deasy is resigning of his own accord or he is soon to be fired, his potential departure as superintendent of the LA Unified School District further undermines leadership of the city’s public education community at a time of massive change and uncertainty.
Lausd Superintendent John Deasy Set To Resign
By Barbara Jones, Los Angeles Daily News and Rick Orlov, Los Angeles Daily News |http://bit.ly/1blzgOg 10/24/13, 6:52 PM PDT | Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy has told some members of the school board that he plans to resign as head of the nation’s second-largest school district, a source close to the board said late Thursday. Contacted at home Thursday night, Deasy refused to
Is he or isn’t he?: L.A. SUPERINTENDENT JOHN DEASY SAYS HE’LL TALK MORE AFTER HIS JOB EVALUATION
By Howard Blume, L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/1fZIZj1 10:28 PM PDT, October 24, 2013 :: L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy said he will have more to say about his future with the school system Tuesday, after he is evaluated by the Board of Education. In the meantime, Deasy said, he has not submitted a letter of resignation. School board President Richard Vladovic, who earlier was described as "
L.A. SCHOOLS SUPT. JOHN DEASY MAY LEAVE IN COMING MONTHS: Superintendent has told some district officials that he may leave but has not submitted his resignation.
By Howard Blume, Los AngelEs Times | http://lat.ms/18j9ffw Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. John Deasy, left, talks to students on a walk to Calvert Charter Elementary School for Enriched Studies. Deasy has told some officials that he may resign soon. (Al Seib, Los Angeles Times / October 24, 2013) October 24, 2013, 10:00 p.m. :: Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy, who has led the
OCT 24
LA Times: L.A. SUPT. JOHN DEASY TO RESIGN
By Howard Blume L.A. Times| http://lat.ms/16wSpiV Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Dr. John Deasy speaks to administrators last summer. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times / August 8, 2013) October 24, 2013, 6:27 p.m. :: Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy has told Board of Education members that he plans to resign in February, according to high-level district officials, including
DON’T TEACH FOR AMERICA: “Education reform” that helps only your resume
By Sandra Y.L. Korn | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson | http://bit.ly/166vV5P Oct 23, 2013 :: Last month, I got an email from a recruiter. An associate of Teach For America, citing a minor leadership role in a student organization as evidence that I “have distinguished [myself] as a leader here on Harvard’s campus,” asked me to meet with Harvard’s TFA representative on campus. Dropping phrases
OCT 23
SEGREGATING ENGLISH LEARNERS IN SCHOOLS: The Los Angeles Unified School District has little choice in the matter. Yet there is reason for concern.
The deciding factor must be what's best for the students, not what's best for the settlement agreement with between the adults of the District and the US Dept of Ed By The Times editorial board | http://lat.ms/1diY7qA Parents protested L.A. Unified's order to reorganize elementary classes according to the students' levels of English language fluency outside LAUSD board member
School Board, Not Schools, Gets Final Say On How Local Control Funding Formula Spending
by LA School Report, http://bit.ly/1fVi8o6 October 22, 2013 :: Ending a debate that was just getting underway within LA Unified, an official from the California School Boards Association said today school boards make all decisions on how Local Control Funding Formula money is spent, not individual schools. Appearing before the LA Unified Board’s Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
MORE QUESTIONS ON L.A, UNIFIED’S iPAD PROGRAM, BUT FEW ANSWERS
District officials say they hope promise to present a fuller picture of the costs and other issues next week by Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/17II1iN October 23, 2013, 1:40 a.m. :: Los Angeles school district officials acknowledged Tuesday that they understated the cost of providing iPads to students, but also said the deal could ultimately save millions of dollars. The L.A.
LA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS NO PLAN B FOR iPAD PROJECT
Annie Gilbertson | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/16t8rKz Grant Slater/KPCC :: Students use iPads for instruction at KIPP Comienza Community Prep in Huntington Park. October 22nd, 2013, 11:33pm :: A school board committee overseeing the Los Angeles Unified School District’s iPad project called into question Tuesday whether the project
LAUSD iPADS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN FIRST BUDGETED
By Barbara Jones, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1cXtJzB In this Aug. 27, 2013 file photo, a student at Cimarron Elementary School in Hawthorne drew a bucket to fill with ideas on an LAUSD-issued iPad. (Photo by Brad Graverson/Torrance Daily Breeze) 10/22/13, 7:45 PM PDT :: New questions arose Tuesday about Los Angeles Unified’s iPad project, including concerns about
School. Lausd Police Hq Evacuated Due To Foul Odor
Incident at the school formerly known as The Belmont Learning Complex by Melissa Pamer, KTLA News | http://bit.ly/17fzUjJ October 22, 2013 :: A report of a foul odor prompted the partial evacuation of a high school and school district police headquarters near downtown Los Angeles midday Tuesday, but no hazardous material was found, authorities said. Authorities responded to the Roybal
OCT 22
SCHOOL iPADS TO COST NEARLY $100 MORE EACH, REVISED BUDGET SHOWS: L.A. Unified will spend $770 per iPad, a 14% increase over earlier cost estimate – not counting keyboards
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times http://lat.ms/H0l5oA October 22, 2013 :: Providing Apple iPads to Los Angeles students will cost nearly $100 more apiece — or $770 per tablet, a new school district budget shows. This potential sticker shock can be avoided, but only after the L.A. Unified School District has spent at least $400 million for the devices. In other words, the district would have
OCT 21
Heard on the radio: SHOULD STUDENTS BE SEPARATED BY THEIR ENGLISH PROFICENCY?
AirTalk with Larry Mantle| KPCC 89.3 | http://bit.ly/1bQm0SA [ Download Audio] [22 min 55 sec] smf: while the debate on the policy is interesting – it seems that the current situation with the rushed mid-semester implementation is either the District’s fault …or each individual principal’s – with a whole lotta lack o’ communication going down! Mario Villafuerte/Getty Images October 21st,
CA School Boards Asso. official: VLADOVIC CENSURE WOULD BE ‘EXTREMELY DEVISIVE EPISODE …AND DIFFICULT TO OVERCOME’
by Vanessa Romo, LA School Report | http://bit.ly/1a2ZWXA October 21, 2013 :: An expert in school board governance says that a censure vote is rare and has the potential to fracture a board even beyond its existing rifts. Christopher Maricle, a policy program officer and governance consultant for the California School Board Association, says the effort to publicly condemn LA Unified Board
Developing working class consciousness: REDEFINING AND REBUILDING THE TEACHERS’ UNION
In the post-Occupy Wall Street era working class consciousness means: Supporting the 99 percent, even if the 1 percent offer you a sweetheart deal if you are willing to ally with them against other working people. It means recognizing the necessary relationship of teachers to the public and to parents. It means we rise together or we do not
L.A. teacher writes Diane Ravitch: JOHN DEASY IS THE EDUCATIONAL EQUIVALENT OF DICK CHENEY
By dianerav in Diane Ravitch's blog http://bit.ly/1gya6D5 October 20, 2013 :: This teacher, who requests anonymity for obvious reasons, has noticed a peculiar tendency on the part of editorial boards and business leaders to shower praise on educational leaders who act brusquely, with a maximum show of contempt for those they lead. He calls this the “Dick Cheney” style of leadership. Those of
OCT 20
iProblems in other places: TABLET-COMPUTING INITITIVES SUFFER MAJOR SETBACKS
By Benjamin Herold, Education Week | http://bit.ly/18zHNy1 Published in Print: October 16, 2013, :: Two large-scale efforts to put digital devices in the hands of students, including the largest deployment to date of the much-publicized Amplify tablets, have been halted because of a variety of problems. In the 73,000-student Guilford County, N.C., school system, officials announced this month
REBOOTING L.A. UNIFIED’S iPAD PLAN: Although we live in a technological age, it is more important for the district to move carefully than to move quickly on giving every student a tablet.
By The LA Times editorial board | http://lat.ms/GWAhDa October 20, 2013 :: John Deasy, the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, can be impatient and stubborn, qualities we often admire in him. It takes a sense of urgency to get things moving in L.A.'s schools, as well as a willingness to stand against the forces that resist change. But it is important for the
OCT 19
L.A. Unified’S English Learner Action Upsets Parents, Teachers
As the district moves to enforce a policy of grouping pupils of similar English fluency ability together, those opposed protest. By Teresa Watanabe, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1eAU9rh 5:54 PM PDT, October 19, 2013 :: Luis Gaytan, the 5-year-old son of Mexican immigrants who speak Spanish at home, was so terrified by kindergarten that he would barely talk — prompting classmates to tease that he
Florida Paints More Lipstick On Test Scores Driven By Common Core
By Kimberly Beltran, SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources http://bit.ly/1i4Sdac Friday, October 18, 2013 :: One member of Florida’s state board of education called the state’s school accountability system a ‘farce’ after the panel agreed to extend for one more year a ‘safety net’ system that masks actual performance. Florida, like scores of other states across the U.S., is grappling wi
The Skeleton Crew: WITH MAJOR DEBT, PHILADELPHIA SCHOOLS CUT BACK ON NURSES
Student dies from untreated asthma Note: The Student to Nurse ration in Philadelphia, decried in this national news story is 1500:1. According to the LAUSD District Nursing Website there are over 450 School Nurses who serve the health needs of more than 640,000 LAUSD students, creating an apparent student to nurse ration of 1442.1. The California state average 2187:1 This is all very
Class Calls Meeting With Vladovic ‘Productive”.
by LA School Report | http://bit.ly/UXHVhZ Posted on October 18, 2013 :: A coalition of community groups known by the acronym, CLASS, finally had a meeting today with LA Unified Board President Richard Vladovic.
ASSEMBLYMAN ASKS WRONG COMMITTEE TO REVIEW LA UNIFIED’S iPAD PROJECT + smf’s 2¢
Annie Gilbertson| Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/15R3CrQ Grant Slater/KPCC :: Second graders Mark G. and Brandon C. play educational games on iPads at a charter school in Huntington Park. October 18th, 2013, 6:31am :: L.A. Unified School District’s iPad plan has taken a beating: many iPads remain on lockdown, others went missing, security was breached, and now schools are backing
Broad Makes Key Donation To L.A. Arts High School
By Howard Blume, L.A. Times http://lat.ms/1a0BVP1 Philanthropist Eli Broad designated a $250,000 prize, given Friday in his and his wife's honor, to go to the downtown arts high school. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images / October 17, 2013) October 18, 2013, 5:48 p.m. :: Philanthropist Eli Broad has donated $250,000 to the downtown arts high school, officially signaling his influential